Calling Dibs

When I was a kid, my brother, sister and I would call dibs on all kinds of stuff like, "Dibs on the couch" or "Dibs on the last cookie". We had to stake our claim on whatever we wanted or someone else would be sure to take it. Kids are sure funny that way. But they aren't the only ones that do it. Whether getting things copyrighted, bidding on property or getting down on one knee, adults make claims on what's important to them, too. When we were dating, the time came that Richard wanted to move our relationship towards marriage. I can still remember when he told me. We were sitting outside of the Logan temple on a chilly October evening. It came as a complete surprise and I quickly told him I was still planning to serve a mission. If I had wanted to knock the wind out of him, I sure said the right thing! He thought things were going so well and don't get me wrong, they were. I liked him a lot but wasn't sure I was ready to marry him. And from the time I was little I had always wanted to go on a mission and my desire only got stronger as I got older. So, now I was faced with a difficult decision, whether to accept this man who I was growing to love or take a chance on leaving and hope he was still around when I got back. As I prayed and thought and stressed about it over the weeks that followed, I came to the very wonderful conclusion that my mission was going to be different than I had originally planned. It was going to be with Richard because if I didn't call dibs on him, someone else would. I haven't always made the right choices in my life, but I have no doubt that in this case, I made the BEST choice!

“We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.”

-Elder Dallin H. Oaks